


On the wind, Cross the sea

by EverGreenUrsa



Category: teen wolf - Fandom
Genre: AU, Alive Hale Family, Alpha Peter Hale, M/M, Mates, Mates Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Omega Stiles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2018-07-29 00:56:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7663996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverGreenUrsa/pseuds/EverGreenUrsa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Teen Wolf/Anastasia AU no one asked for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. At the Beginning

_There was a time, not very long ago, when we lived in a world where humans and werewolves lived in harmony. The year was 2006 and my family, the Hales, was the ruling wolf pack of Beacon Hills. The Alpha, my sister Talia, maintained a peaceful order amongst the entire community. We were celebrating the 300 th anniversary of our family’s control over the area of Beacon Hills and that night, no star burned brighter than that of my sweet Stiles, my mate. At the time he was 12 where I was nearing 18. He was the son of the local Sheriff and one of my sisters Beta’s. The Hale and Stilinski families had always been close and since the boy’s birth everyone knew that he and I were mates. From the moment my eyes fell into onto his whiskey amber eyes I was gone, absolutely and irrevocably. We thought we would be together forever._

_I had just taken on my status as an Alpha and began to share the responsibilities of the territory with my sister, but I would be leaving soon for college and it broke Stiles heart. He was scared that I would leave forever and forget. To make the separation easier for both of us I had a very special gift made for him. A silver pendant with a triskele, the symbol of the Hale family, carved into its face on the back was written, Together in Beacon Hills. A promise to him that I would return, and that we would always be together. The pendant itself was a key, to a music box that played Stiles favorite lullaby, one his mother had sung to him when he was younger. One she would never be able to sing again since she had departed this world two years prior._

_But, we would never be together in Beacon Hills, for a dark shadow has descended upon the Hale family. His name was Gerard Argent, he was a hunter, we thought he wanted to form a pact with our family. It wasn’t unheard of and the Argent name while infamous for being the strongest hunting family, was known for living by a code. They only hunted that which harmed others, and the Hale family had never been violent in any way. But he was a fraud, power-mad and dangerous. Consumed by his hatred of werewolves Rasputin began spouting an anti-werewolf rhetoric. He turned the spark of bigotry into a flame of intolerance that drove our family out of Beacon Hills and almost destroyed all our lives forever._

***

**11/3/2006**

The night was calm and the whole of the Hale Mansion was quiet, the party had been grand and Stiles was exhausted. He had danced so much with the rest of the Hale kids, his father and Stefan Hale stood near the bar drinking and talking about work. Talia Hale mingled with friends and guests. Stiles had rushed to Peter the moment he saw him. He wanted to spend as much time with his mate before he left for school. He knew intellectually that Peter would be back, but the irrational part of him thought the man might find someone else at college, someone belter suited. Then Peter gave him the music box and pendant, and Stiles knew he would return. Some old man came into the party and caused a lot of unease until Talia politely but firmly told him to leave. Stiles was barely able to see anything because Peter had put himself between Stiles and the old man.

Stiles continued to reminisce about the party as he began to slip into the quiet calm of sleep. Then the world went to hell. Explosions shook the house and Stiles dad was running into the room, Peter on his tail, waking Stiles as Peter grabbed Stiles’ coat. Stiles was confused and groggy as his father and Peter talked about exits and where to go as they herded him out of his room and into the long hall of the upper floor. Talia stood at the end to the hall calling out.

“Hurry everyone. This way.”

Gunshots rang through the night as the Hales and the Stilinski’s and the whole of the house ran for the nearest exits. Stiles reached for the pendant that Peter had given him that night, a totem for him to focus on and pray that everything would be alright. The moment he touched it he remembered the companion piece to it.

“My music box!” Stiles startled, turning on his heel and barreling back to his room, ignorant of Peter and his father shouting after him. Flames erupted outside as he threw the door of his room open and ran to his bedside table picking up the small box.

“STILES, we need to go!” Peter shouted from the door, his eyes wide with terror his only concern the safety of the young man before him. As he spoke the distinct sound of the front door being broken down echoed through the halls, automatic rifles sang in the night. Peter thought that this was the end, but then a wall opened and two young men, twins, poked their heads into the room their identical eyes glowing gold.

“This way, through the servant’s halls.” One of them whispered. Peter collected Stiles and ushered him through the door in their haste Stiles dropped his music box. He tried to turn around to get it once more but the twin boys pushed the door closed before he could. As Peter herded Stiles through the tiny hallway they could hear the sounds of hunters shouting at the two boys. Peter knew that it was unlikely they would survive; he would never be able to thank them.

The hall led through the wine cellar and exited out into an open space a few yards away from the house. As they moved Peter tried to think on where they would likely re-group. There was a family home out in San Bernardino, near enough that she could maintain her control over Beacon Hills but far enough away that they could all lick their wounds and pull themselves back together.

“Peter!” Stiles called out to him, Peter turned to see that the young boy, fatigued, was falling behind him.

“Keep up with me darling. We need to get to the train station.” Peter grabbed his hand and they continued on through the woods. They got a few more feet before someone else grabbed Stiles and pulled him from Peters grasp. Stiles startled scream echoed through the woods. Peter turned to see Gerard clutching Stiles hand.

“Let me go, please!” Stiles cried.

“Not until every last one of you mutts is put down.” Gerard sneered with a wicked grin.

Peter was about to tear the man to tatters and ribbons when Stiles bit down hard onto Gerard’s arm, causing him to scream in pain. He released the boy as he clutched his arm, checking to see if there were any bite marks. Peter took the moment and punched the man, hard, hoping it would knock him out. He grabbed Stiles again and they ran and never looked back.

They made it to the train station half an hour later and bought tickets for the next train out, which was already on its way out of the station. Peter hauled the boy through the packed train station pushing their way through the crowds. He kept a hand on Stiles the entire time as they made their way, the train was leaving the station and Peter picked up the pace getting to the closest car and pulling himself on. It was in that very moment that someone had gotten between him and Stiles and forced them to separate. The train picked up speed and Stiles ran to keep up.

“Peter! Wait for me!” Stiles called out. Peter reached out to him desperate to get the boy onto the train.

“Take my hand, hold on to my hand.” Peter reached as Stiles reached too. Their hands grasped for just a moment as the train barreled out of the station faster and faster. Stiles’ poor body couldn’t keep up and he suddenly tripped, hitting his head on one of the metal railings.

“STILES.” Peter shouted over the sound of the shunting trains. His mate vanishing into the distance as the train made its ways down the tracks to its destination. He tried to jump of the train but the other passengers held him back as the train was moving too fast for it to be safe.

Peter had doubled back to try and find the boy but when he got their Stiles was nowhere to be seen and no one could tell him where the pre-teen had vanished to.

***

_So much was destroyed that night. What had always been was now gone forever. And my Stiles, my dearest mate…I never saw him again._

***

**12/13/2012**

_BEACON HILLS, Six Years After the Hunters Assault on Hale House_

Rumor had spread through the whole of Beacon Hills that Stiles Stilinski, mate to Peter Hale, co-alpha of the Beacon Hills territory was still alive somewhere. The rumor thrived for the last six years because no one had been able to find the boy and all of the hunters arrested for the assault on the house insisted that they had no knowledge of the whereabouts of the Stilinski boy. Of course a hunter’s word had lost all credibility after the attack on the Hales. Thankfully all of the Hales had survived that night and they were slowly returning to the town.

Eventually the everyday comings and goings of the townsfolk returned and Beacon Hills returned to some semblance of normalcy. The disappearance of Stile Stilinski spoken of in shadows and back alleys. The story became synonymous with Beacon Hills and when one spoke about the town, the rumor of Stiles Stilinski’s survival was sure to follow.

Ethan and Aiden Carver wandered through the streets of Beacon Hills. Meandering through the crowds of bustling citizens. Aiden picking the occasional pocket here and there. One needed to do what was necessary to survive.

“I got the theater. We have it for the evening for our auditions.” Ethan said as waltzed down the street taking in the sights.

“Everything is going according to plan, now all we need is a boy to fit the part. Just think, Ethan, no more pickpocketing, no more fake ID’s. We’ll have everything we need to finally start living like normal human beings. Well as normal as can be expected.” Aiden said as his eyes glowed slightly at the implication.

***

_Eichen House Orphanage. Costa Mesa, CA._

The Eichen House Orphanage is abuzz with farewells as two figures make their way down the main path to the gates that block the orphanage off from the rest of the street. The older gentleman is Adrian Harris, a middle aged man with an exhausted and frustrated expression. He is the overseer of the orphanage and usually has a relatively pleasant demeanor but his companion, Stuart, is once again not paying attention.

Stuart is a lanky young man with chestnut brown hair and whiskey eyes that shine in the sunlight, eyes that only become more noticeable due to his black framed glasses. Stuart is currently waving to all of the kids still inside the house.

“Goodbye, bye everyone. I’ll miss you guys.” Stuart shouts as he waves.

“Would you listen, please!” Harris grumbles, exhaling a put upon sigh.

“I’m listening Mr. Harris.” Stuart says, eyes falling to the ground.

“I got you a job at a nearby fish factory. Go straight down Pine Rose till you reach the fork in the road. Then go left.” Harris said. The look on Stuarts face was not promising.

“Fish Factory, great.” Stuart muttered.

“Ugh. You’ve been a thorn in my side since you were brought here!” Harris explained grabbing Stuart by the collar and hauling him to the gate, ignoring the young man’s yelp and subsequent grumble. “Acting like the Queen of Sheba instead of the nameless no account you are. In spite of that, for the last ten years I’ve fed you, clothed you…”

“…kept a roof over my head. Blah, blah, blah.” Stuart finished for Mr. Harris as he was manhandled.

“How is it you don’t have a clue as to who you were before you came here but you can remember all that?” Harris muttered.

“But I do have a clue!” Stuart said reaching for the pendant beneath his shirt.

“Ugh I know!” Harris exclaimed, grabbing the pendant and reading from it for the thousandth time. “Together in Beacon Hills. So, you want to go to Beacon Hills to find your family huh?” Harris asked with an indulgent but totally fake look of sympathy. When Stuart nodded his head, Harris pushed the boy out of the gate. “The time has come Stuart for you to take your place, in life and in line, and be grateful.” He said closing the gate on Stuart forever. Stuart for his part started heading down Pine Rose when Harris shouted after him. “Together in Beacon Hills, be grateful.”

As Stuart made his way down Pine Rose he grumbled, mocking Harris with his own stylized mimicry of the bastard’s mannerisms.

“Be grateful. I am grateful, grateful to get away.” He mutters as he stops at the fork in the road where Pine Rose ends. Left is the fishing factory, but to the right is the bus station and Stuart has enough for a bus ticket.

“Go left, he said. I know what’s left. I’ll be Stuart the Orphan forever. But, if I go right…maybe I could find…who ever gave me this necklace must have loved me…” He said to himself as he looked longingly down the right street. He looks down the left road, in the distance he can see the factory he can even smell it from here, a little bit.

“Send me a sign, anything.” Stuart says gazing at the sky. He usually isn’t one to put stock in fate of faith or any of that nonsense, but right at that moment a young man with olive skin and puppy dog eyes walks past him and asks.

“Hey you heading to the Bus Station?” He says throwing a smile over his shoulder.

Stuart looked to the sky in surprise. Looking back to the young man walking down the street Stuart mutters. “I can take a hint.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 and Stuarts first day in Beacon Hills

BUS 372, ON ROUTE TO BEACON HILLS

The olive skinned, puppy eyed, backpacker was named Scott and he and Stuart hit it off relatively quickly, despite the fact that they didn’t have much in common. This was due simply to the fact that both young men were brought up in completely different circumstances. Stuart spent a lot of his time reading books and wondering what life would be like with a family. Scott on the other hand had a mother, he was a member of the Beacon Hills pack, he had a home. The one thing that Stuart appreciated most was that Scott didn’t take that for granted. He appreciated it, reveled in it even. Many people Stuart met didn’t really appreciate that one simple luxury. Teenagers were the worst, some of them shunning their parents simply for the fact that they enforced simple rules. Ignoring siblings in an asinine attempt to maintain some self-manufactured cool factor and an individuality that would only be possible with said siblings, perceptions that come with the teen ego sadly. It took all of his self-control not to go up to them and scream. “I was found wandering the woods alone and with no memory of who I was. Somewhere in this world there is a family waiting for me and I can’t get to them!” Still, that was neither here nor there. Fact was that Scott loved his mother and lived for his pack. Stuart liked Scott, Scott was good people.

“So what are you going to do once you get to Beacon Hills Stu?” Scott asked hiking his foot up onto the bus seat. Stuart was staring out of the window admiring the scenery. He hadn’t really thought past the whole getting to Beacon Hills part. When he got there he would need to start looking somewhere, but where? 

“I guess I’ll probably go to the Police Station. If I came from Beacon Hills than there may be a missing person’s report out for me. Though they usually expand the scope to neighboring counties after a while without any leads. But, it’s something.” Stuart said eyes still watching the tree’s fly by.

“What if you aren’t from Beacon Hills?” Scott asked, it was an obvious question and the obvious answer was…

“I don’t know.” Stuart said.

“Well you are going to need a place to stay, I already texted my mom and while I can’t guarantee you will be comfy we have a pull out couch.” Scott said eyes wide and slightly pleading with a shit eating grin plastered across his face. 

“I stayed in a government run home for orphaned youths, comfort has never had a place in my vocabulary. I’m sure it will feel like a cloud compared to what I have had to settle for before.” Stuart said. 

“Awesome! We’ll run to my place once we get there, though you’ll have to entertain yourself for a while. I promised my girlfriend some quality time, if you know what I mean.” Scott said with a slight waggle of his eyebrows.

“I’m sure you don’t need to go into any further detail.” Stuart said shaking his head with a chuckle.

“You should try town hall too. They have all of these records and they hold big community events there, I mean the pack has an annual anniversary event there in the ball room. Place is huge dude.” Scott said looking to the front of the bus to see how many stops they had left. 

“Thanks for the tip.” Stuart said turning and smiling. It was a daunting task looking for his long forgotten past. He would take any help he could get.

Over the intercom the driver announced the next two stops. Beacon Hills was coming up soon. As the town got closer butterflies rampaged in Stuarts stomach, fluttering about in a kaleidoscope of colors and wingbeats.

MEANWHILE IN BEACON HILLS

“I can dance too; I dance like a feather!” The young man said from the stage. While he was the same age that Stiles Stillinski would be, there was no way that he was the same boy. This young man was too boxy, his chest was too wide, and his face too serious. Stiles was well known for having a mischievous air about him. Ethan and Aiden shared a long suffering look this was the 49th candidate so far. 

“Thank you, yes, thank you. Next please?” Aiden said rolling his eyes and scratching this candidate off the list of names he had. The next candidate walked on stage and both young men had to hold in the groan begging to erupt. This one was completely wrong, his hair was shoulder length and blonde, his skin was dotted with moles that were obviously applied with make-up as you could see the streaks from where they were rubbed at. With a deep inhale the young man discarded his trench coat revealing his outfit which in and of itself was revealing. Yeah there was no way. Aiden furiously scratched the name off the list. “Thank you.” 

After the auditions were over they exited the theater without anything to show for all their effort. “That’s it Aiden, we spent every cent we had on this rat’s nest and not one of the applicants was suitable enough to pretend to be Stiles. We have nothing now.”

“We’ll find him, Ethan. He’s out there somewhere.” Aiden tried to reassure his brother. “Plus, one look at this jewelry box and Alpha Hale will think we’ve brought the real Stiles no matter what and before he even catches on we’ll be halfway across the world spending that reward money.” 

As they walked down the road a police cruiser pulled up behind them. The door opened and the officer exited the vehicle. “Evening Ethan, Aiden. Do you two know anything about some missing wallets?” The officer asked, a look on his face that said he knows the two boys were the culprits. 

“Evening Sheriff.” The boys said in unison. Resigned to their fate.

12/14/2012

BEACON HILLS POLICE DEPARTMENT

Stuart walked into the Police Station a spring in his step. Scotts mom Melissa had been very kind, even offering him a place to stay until he could either find his family or get on his feet. She even offered some help, she worked in a hospital as a nurse, so she offered to take some blood and have it tested. Scott the lovable dork, berated himself for not thinking of it earlier. She was quick to tell him it may not even get him everything but it would give him a name and that was something. Stuart was quick to accept. Hoping that maybe finding out who he was wouldn’t be as hard as he expected. 

Stuart walked up to the front desk were a young dark-skinned woman stood sporting a bored and slightly annoyed look on her face. Stuart read her name tag, so he knew who he was dealing with. He was about to open his mouth when someone burst through the doors behind him. “Tamara, I think I found our little pickpockets.” The woman perked up immediately when the slightly burly man walked through the doors two delinquents in tow. The man looked pissed. “Pair of morons spent half of the money to rent the Moonlight to audition people.” He said as he continued to seethe. “Audition for what?” Tamara asked interest piqued. “I’m not going to say, it will just piss me off more.” He thundered slamming through the partition the pair of men in tow. Stuart took this moment to get the woman’s attention again “Excuse me, miss? I was wondering if there were any missing persons cases still open?” She turned to Stuart with an empirically raised eyebrow. “Even if we did, I couldn’t disclose that information to a total stranger.” Stuarts mood deflated at that, of course they couldn’t disclose that kind of information. The woman seemed to note his shift in mood and softened visibly. “Look, we have a few things posted on the board you can check it out, but the best advice I can give is to let us do our job we know what steps need to be taken and we have a better shot and finding your friend or relative than you do.” Stuart could have corrected her, but what was the point, there wasn’t any way that if there was a missing person case she would believe he was the missing person. How often did people waltz into police stations and say, “Hey I think I’m a missing person, but I don’t know because everything before the age of 12 is a big black blank.” He nodded and wandered over to the board she had indicated. There were a handful of missing persons fliers but none that fit. None of them were even kids. There was an older gentleman about 85, Stuart noted that he had dementia and his heart squeezed at that. A woman in her forties, who had disappeared from the local grocery store. The last one was a man in his early twenties who had gone hiking out in what was called “The Preserve” and had not returned to work the following week. All of them upset Stuart in one way or another and he left the station depressed and back at square one. 

MEANWHILE INSIDE THE STATION

Deputy Jordan Parish walked into John Stilinski’s office noting the two delinquents sitting outside with sullen expressions on their faces. “Sheriff?” Parish asked as he entered, Johns eyes rose from the paperwork in front of him. “What is it Parish?” He asked gruffly and quickly kicked himself for it. “Sorry, not trying to bite. I’ve just had to deal with a SPECIAL BRAND OF STUPID TODAY.” He shouted the last bit staring daggers into the back of the delinquent’s heads and they shrunk in on themselves at his raised voice. “That’s alright.” Parish chuckled slightly quickly sobering as he delivered his news “I just wanted to let you know that I took care of the thing you asked me to do. John stared at Parish for a moment processing the information and seemed to do a combination sigh and exhale, clearly relieved and at the same time a fresh sort of grief seemed to take him. “Thanks Parish, I wasn’t sure I could go another day seeing that face on the board.” Parish nodded and went back to his desk, when he sat down he opened the bottom left drawer he had held on to the fliers just in case the sheriff changed his mind. There they would sit in a neat stack each page with an image of the young omega, each reading:

Genim “Stiles” Stilinski  
Missing Since: 11/3/2006  
Age: 12  
Description: Brown Hair, Brown Eyes, Pale Skin w/ Moles  
Reward: $5,000,000

Please take any information you may have on the whereabouts of Stiles to Sheriff John Stilinski  
Parish sighed as he looked at the stack, he had tried to argue with the Sheriff over it, but he had put his foot down and Parish could see the man was at the end of his rope. Parish also knew how important it was to both his boss and the Hale family to find Stiles, so he had started taking time outside of work to conduct his own investigation. He still had contacts in the government and hoped that they might be able to find a new lead where the local resources had come up short.

HALE MANOR, THE PRESERVE

Peter was livid, literally seeing red and he was certain it showed. “Get out.” He said in a growling voice with the slightest hint of the Alpha-tone in it. The young man sputtered slightly, he had certainly been convincing, until he started spouting all the same nonsense that all the others had stuff that was a matter of public record. They thought they knew secrets, hardly, they knew only what the Hales allowed the world to know. He had almost been convinced and then he got that biting scent of vinegar under the fragrant mountain laurel and citrus that he had come to know as Stiles, vinegar had never been a part of Stiles scent and the minute he had smelled it he saw that the moles weren’t all in the right places. They were close that was certain, but they weren’t exactly where they were supposed to be. “But Peter…” The young man had attempted, trying to salvage the performance by being familiar, a bad idea.

“It is ALPHA HALE, as far as you are concerned, and you are lucky I don’t call the sheriff right now and have you arrested. Cora will show you out.” Peter nodded to his niece who stood sentry at the door waiting to either eject an imposter or embrace a long-lost friend and family member. When the two left his study, Peter deflated and flopped back into his desk chair, his usual grace gone at the realization that, yet another potential was a fake. He knew Stiles was out there somewhere and he desperately wanted to find him and bring him home. He had tapped all his connections in every law enforcement agency known to man as well as all his connections in the supernatural world trying to find his young mate. However, as each year passed, and he came up empty each time, little bits of his confidence got stripped away. He could feel Stiles at his core, the bond had never broken just dimmed significantly which was part of why he knew that somewhere out their Stiles was looking and waiting just like he was, but the fading of the bond had prevented Peter from going straight to Stiles. He sat wondering what his young mate was like these days, did he still wear offensive flannels like they were in style? Did he still talk a mile a minute when he was excited? Did he still get embarrassed over his excitement over things that others might think weird? His young mate had loved playing games, he was starting to get into that Yu-Gi-Oh card game that year, it was something that occupied his overactive mind but also something he could share with the other cubs. He had even bonded with Derek over it, the pair of dorks had even started talking about making a pack wide tournament for the kids and overseeing it together. Derek, driven by his own grief, made sure it happened but had Isaac and Scott oversee it because anytime he was present he would lose his composure, and Derek crying wasn’t anything that anyone wanted to see. A knock interrupted Peters reverie and he looked up to see Laura and her mother, his sister, Talia entering. 

“Another fake?” Laura asked sadness evident in her voice.

“Yes, I’m sorry to say.” Peter confirmed.

Laura looked visibly disgruntled and Talia stood behind her stoic and focused. Her frustration not something she wanted to broadcast, but Peter knew the subtle clues. It was one of the things that made it easy to run the territory together, knowing each other so well that neither needed words to communicate. 

“As it is, I think I’m done for a while.” Peter said as he stood from his chair.

“Peter you can’t give up!” Laura practically shouted, Talia wincing at the shrill tone she started to take. 

“Laura, inside voice.” Talia scolded. “Peter isn’t giving up, he said for a while, till after the anniversary party, right?” Talia asked directing her question to Peter who confirmed with a nod. He wanted to focus and didn’t want to go through the emotional wringer while dealing with the stress bomb that was their anniversary ball. Talia nodded, approaching Peter and taking him into her arms, she knew the toll it took on her little brother and wished that she could keep him from the pain he was experiencing. She also knew how strong he was, and how tenacious Stiles was, they would find each other she could feel it. “I love you Peter.” She said and kissed his temple, turning on her heel and ushering Laura out. After they exited Peter leaned forward on his desk and caressed the picture frame on the left side of his desk. The last formal portrait they had been able to get of Stiles, he stared straight at the camera in a cerulean button down that set off the brown of his eyes and hair. “Soon love, you’ll be home soon.” He said picking up the frame and kissing the picture like he did every night before he finished for the day and went to bed

BEACON HILLS, TOWN HALL

Stuart had wandered the small town of Beacon Hills for a while. He had applied to a few jobs that some of the local shops had posted, knowing he would need to bring in some money so that he could start saving up to get his own place and maybe even pitch in with what he could at the McCall house. The last place he had applied happened to be a book shop and the frazzled middle-aged woman who seemed to be the only one who worked there jumped at his application. She immediately asked when he could start and jumped into the interview process after that. It seemed a little backwards, but he was grateful to be gainfully employed quickly and at $12.00 an hour no less. Her name was Elaine Hale, she was related to one of the biggest families in Beacon Hills and the shop was one of many family owned businesses dotted around town. Stuart immediately recognized the family name as the pack that Scott was a member of and he mentioned as much to Elaine which made her light up slightly, she liked Scott. She ended up saying “Well if Scott likes you than so do I, welcome aboard Stuart.” Apparently, Elaine normally had help from the family with the shop, but they were stretched thin due to the preparations for their big anniversary ball. His first day was the following Monday which gave him a little while to get everything in order and maybe do more research on his identity. 

With a spring in his step he made his way toward town hall after asking a handful of people where it was. The building was unassuming, a simple white building with large dark wooden doors with various images of wolves carved into it. What struck Stuart was the image carved into the center of the doors where they met, the same triple spiral on his necklace. He stood marveling at the door for a minute before making his way into the building. The inside was large and spacious with a vaulted dome ceiling decorated with geometric tile murals. At the center of the foyer was a mahogany desk, but the desk was empty and there was no sign to indicate when or if anyone would return. Stuart stood around awkwardly for several minutes before, against his better judgement, he decided to explore and maybe find someone who could help him.

The first door he came across was locked and the same for the second, but the third led to a large ballroom. The left and right walls were floor to ceiling glass panels that seemed capable of being repositioned or opened entirely, the left side led to a large lush garden with several flowering trees and what looked like the entrance to a hedge maze. The right side led to a large stone courtyard with a huge fountain at its center which was lit up with different colored lights. Stuart had never been here before, but still something felt so familiar about the ballroom. Like he had dreamt it, that sort of weird déjà vu moment where you’re certain you’ve dreamed of a moment or place, but you can’t recall the dream. He took in the tables that had been decorated already, it was obvious they were getting ready for a party and Stuart knew he shouldn’t disturb anything, but he couldn’t resist the magnetic pull the space had on him. There were center pieces with the same triple spiral as the base, gold and red leaves scattered haphazardly around the center, each table that had been decorated had five place settings and with one hundred tables total that meant that at least five hundred people were showing up to this shindig. Unbeknownst to him Stuart had begun humming and swaying, imagining what it might be like at a big party like that. He had already concluded that these were the preparations for the Hale Anniversary ball that Scott and Elaine had talked about. He idly wondered what it might be like to be a part of the pack, wondered if he could join, wondered what might happen if he did. He would probably be at the ball with Scott, someone would approach him a strong but gentle hand guiding him to the dance floor. A bow mirrored by another subtler bow, a warm presence on his waist and circular movements that took them across the whole of the dance floor and Stuart would laugh and laugh and laugh because his partner had just said something obnoxiously clever. That same gentle hand would run through his hair and a whispered conversation. As the music dies they slow to a more subdued rhythm and his partner pecks his forehead before wandering off to attend to important matters for a moment. Stuart was imagining what it would feel like envisioning the people in their fancy dress and the laughter and merriment when…

“Hey, what are you doing in here. We’re getting ready for a private party you can’t be in here.” The dream was broken and staring him down were some very expressive eyebrows and a very angry young alpha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am definitely going to finish this fic, mostly because I refuse to leave it unfinished.


End file.
